Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia is becoming ‘dangerous’ for Bangladesh’s interest, the Information Minister has said.
Hasanul Haq Inu wondered why the BNP chief was not suing The Washington Times, although she has claimed she had not written the column.
“Khaleda Zia is becoming dangerous for the country,” he said told the press on Wednesday.
The Washington Times ran an article on Jan 30 titled – ZIA: The thankless role in saving democracy in Bangladesh – which said the writer was “Begum Khaleda Zia is former prime minister of Bangladesh and current leader of the opposition”.
It called upon the US and Western nations to come forward to ‘save democracy’ in Bangladesh and that they should consider targeting travel and other sanctions.
Five months after its publication, the article came into the spotlight after the US suspended quota-free access of Bangladeshi goods to its market. The article had called for cancellation of the GSP facility.
Khaleda told Parliament on Saturday that she had not written any such a column, touching off a political storm. It prompted bdnews24.com to contact the American newspaper about the article.
On Tuesday, in an email, its Executive Editor David S Jackson said they were “confident in its authenticity”. He said they carried the article they got through an intermediary and ran it only after they were sure about the writer’s identity.
Protesting the statement, Khaleda’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan told bdnews24.com late on Tuesday night that the BNP chief had not sent any article to the US newspaper.
Minister Inu said senior BNP leader Moudud Ahmed and its spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had acknowledged the article was Khaleda’s.
“Why are you (Khaleda) not filing libel suits against The Washington Times, although you claimed it was not your article,” he said, throwing a question to the Opposition Leader.
Inu said the newspaper had run the article after they were confirmed about its authenticity.
He alleged the BNP and its chief were practising a “politics of falsehood” in a planned way. “Their falsehood has threatened the country’s democracy and the economy,” he said.
The minister urged the readymade garment workers across Bangladesh to be aware of those who plot against the sector.
He suggested they should not vote for the opposition alliance if they wanted to save the RMG sector and their factories, and their jobs.
Source: Bd news24
“Khaleda Zia is becoming dangerous for the country,” says Inu!
Inu was a leading person to destabilise the Mujib regime (1973-75), waged armed rebellion against that government and was responsible for the killings of about 30,000 young people and students who were captivated by the slogan of so-called scientific socialism. Inu and others including the current VC of Jahangirnagar University Dr Anwar Hossain made a failed attempt to kidnap the then Indian High Commissioner Mr Samar Sen; the incident resulted in police firing to cause the death of several persons. He was also responsible for the indiscriminate killings of many army officers by the so-called Gono Bahini who chanted the chilling slogans “Sepai Sepai Bhai Bhai, Officerer Rokto Chai”.
It is very strange that the persons who caused so much trouble and pain for the Sheikh Mujib government are now in the driving seat of Sheikh Hasina’s government. They are talking big (mostly lies), but in reality they are agent provocateurs working for a foreign agency.
Hasina is not safe with those ‘allies’ who have sold their souls to the devil.